Construction on the Byford Solar Farm will commence shortly as Kleenheat have entered into an agreement with clean energy company WestGen. Kleenheat will purchase the solar power and the renewable energy certificates generated from the construction of the upcoming Byford solar farm, which will be build 35km south of Perth.
Byford Solar Farm
The farm will cost approximately $70m to complete and it will be able to generate up to 30MW of power – the largest solar farm of its type in WA. According to a press release on the Wesfarmers website (Kleenheat is owned by Wesfarmers), the 75 hectare project will be commissioned early next year and will help save 67,000 tonnes / year of CO2 emissions.
Mark Gadsby, the GM of Kleenheat, spoke about how the Byford farm will allow them to purchase wholesale energy at competitive pricing – which will have a follow on effect for their customers. “This is a way of securing the best price for the energy at its source, strengthening our ability to compete in the market to secure and retain business customers in the contestable electricity space,” said Mr Gadsby.
The Director of WestGen, Richard Harris, said that the partnership of Kleenheat and WestGen over the Byford Solar Farm proved that renewable energy is now a very viable option in Western Australia and nationwide – being quoted as saying that “With technological advances and economies of scale, large-scale renewable energy developers can offer more and more competitively-priced and reliable supply that is environmentally sustainable”.
The project is expected to provide around 100 jobs to the area at peak construction and will be the only utility scale solar farm in a metro area in Australia.
Byford Solar Form EPC Contract
According to RenewEconomy, Perth based WHBO Infrastructure will JV with Phoenix Solar (based in Singapore) to deliver the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) for the project. WHBO GM Will Gobler spoke excitedly about the project, and advised that the landmark project will help raise the image of solar power in Western Australia significantly: “It’s an important project. Not only will it set a new benchmark for solar projects in WA, but will also provide benefits for the local economy, with opportunities for our workforce, as well as for subcontractors and suppliers.
The project is expected to be fully commissioned and operational by mid 2018, after multiple delays.
